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Music that is mostly homophonic can become temporarily polyphonic if an independent countermelody is added.

This is a countermelody, sometimes called a descant part.

Above all there is that singular, inborn mix of the rough and the sweet, a softness to his voice, his eyes, that from “Something Wild” on has provided a sort of complicating countermelody to the darker aspects of his less savory roles.

“We need to add a countermelody to accent the sample.”

That countermelody — not entirely unaffiliated with his interview skills — is why Suzanne Joe Kai’s documentary “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres” is occasionally more than the usual admiring portrait.